Refrigerator car



Dec. 7 1926.

1,610,221 H. A. SIMMS ET AL' REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Nov. 24. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a N a/ W 5 x \w EW Dec. 7 1926.

v H. A. SIMMS ETHAL REFRIGERATOR CAR .Filed Nov. 24.. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jmremfar [Zara/dd, Sz'mms ef /m g v Patented Dec. 1926,

HAROLD A. sIMMs AnnJoHIv SHARP, or ci roAeo, ILLINOIS.

' nEFnIeEnAI'on CAR,

Application fil ed November 24, 1924. Serial No'. 751,894, 7

Our invention relates to improvements in refrigerator'cars, and is particularly concerned Wlth the, provision of a refr gerator car having a bulkhead for forming the ice chamber or compartment, the bulkhead being constructedin such a manner that it can be p to its inoperative position, protects the workmen from-falling ice; I

V prising an ice 'hatchWay', a bulkhead and;

moved out of operative position for the purpose'of converting the ice chamber or compartment space into loading space.

The objects ofour presentinvention are: First, to provide a refrigerator car, of the character described, comprising a bulkhead that can be easily and quickly moved into tin operative position so I as to make the ice chamber space available'for loading;

- Second, to provide a refrigerator car comprising a bulkhead which, While being moved ihird, toprovide a refrigerator car commeans for closing the hatchivay when the V bulkhead is moved to inoperative position, so

as to prevent pilferage' of the car through" the ice hatchway; Y Y

Fourth, to provlde a refrlgerator-car, such as descrlbechin Whichthe pilferage-preventing device'isautomatically moved to its closed position when the bulkhead is moved to its inoperative position;

Fifth, to provide a refrigerator car, of the character described, in Which down draft hoods areformed in the pilfer plate and v in whichthe pilfer plate moves to a p osition' the latter is moved to operative position, so.

as'notonly to cause'circulation ofthe air 1 through and around the ice, but further to prevent pilferage of the car through theabove the upper edge of the bulkhead when space above the bulkhead and the hatchWay;

Sixth, to providea bulkhead comprising means that Will permit easy inspection of the Well or sump beneath the ice grate; I

Seventh, to provide a construction, such as described, in Which the ice grates are removably mounted and constructed so as-to I drop intothe Well where they will be .out

of the-Way in loading the car, and Where they will act tofprotect the metal lining of the Well enough to Withstand the rough usage to Figure 5 is' a sectional Eighth, to provide a refrigerator car,such

Ninth, toprovide a refrigerator car of the characterdescribed, that is simple in: construction, economical to manufacture and in which the bulkhead is easily movableinto and out of its operative position.

frost to the loading v Other objects of our invention W111 appear a as th1s descriptlon progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in w hfi j a Figure '1 is a vertical, transverse'sectlon through a refrigerator'car embodying our invention Y Figure 2 is a vertical, taken on line 2'2 of'Figure 1 1 I V Figure?) is a sectional 'detailfltaken online tures of construction of the bulkhead, por

longitudinal section 3'3 of Figure 2,;showing some of the means for supporting the lee grateand certain fear tions of the latter being broken away for the purpose of better illustration;

Figure-4 is a sectional detail,-on an enlargedscale, taken on a line co responding,

to line 4.4 of Figure 1; I

detail taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2;

* Figure 6 is a section through the ice hatchway, showing a modified form of a vportion of our nvent on; p

Flgure 7 s v1eW simllar to Figure 1,

shovvlng amodified form of our invention,

portions of the bulkhead and Wellscreenbeingbrokenavvay; i Figure 8 is a longitudinal section taken on line 8-8 ofFigure 7; Figure 9 is a viewsimilar to Figure 8, but showing the bulkhead in its inoperative position;' f Figure 10 is a horizontalsection taken on line -10-1O of Figure 7 1 a -i Figure-11 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 11-11 of Figure 7 and v Figure 12' is a sectional detail aken" on line 12-12 of Figure 9. I Throughout the several views similar refas i erence characters are 'usedxfor referring to similar parts-and the sections are taken look ing in the directions of the small-arrows.

Referring tothe drawings, and, for the timebeing, to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, We have illustrated'our invention as being embodied in a refrigerator car comprisingthe sides 10, the top 11 and floor 12, portions of which are shown in section, and also an end Wall13 that is shown in section. The con-.

struction of the sides, top,'bottom and end walls may he in accordance with standard or conventional design, and further description thereof is thought to be unnecessary. ld'

, jacent one end of the car and above the space that is to form the ice chamber or compart-,

iiient, we provide an ice hatchway 14 through which ice can be supplied to the ice chamber 15. i i

For the purpose of confining the ice to the ice chamber or compartment, we provide two bulkhead doors B that. are pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the car, as shown at '16, so that they may either be. swung into 7 position across the car, as shown in Figures,

- 1 and; 2, or swung into position along the sides of the car so as to be out of the way:

andtopermit the ice compartment to be the channel members 17, forms the opposite used as loading space.

Each of the bulkhead doors comprises a rectangular frame formed of channel iron 17 for confiiiino theed es of thewooden facing 18 that-contacts with the lading to prevent dainage through contact with frost or rust.

A sheet of metal 19 the ed es ofwhich I I 'l a i I are coniined within thefrain'e formed by or back side of the door, and between the facing 18 andthe inetal sheet 19 are confined a layer 20 of suitable insulating material, such'as mineral wool, cork, etc., and a series of spacing strips 21 that form an' air space between the layer of insulation20 and the "wooden facing 18.

in spaced relation, to the back side of each of the bulkhead doors, as sh'own in Figures 2,. 3 and 4:. The outwardly extending flanges ofthese. angle irons act as supports for a 7 screen 23, or other suitable reticulated partition that maybe held in place by means of clamping strips 24, or in any other desired For the purpose of further strengthening the doors and preventing them from sagging, we prefer to provide each of them with:

two or more transversely extending metal strips or bars 25 and'26.

vide one of theniwith a cam plate 27 and the other with a locking bar comprisin a short section of shafting 28 that is rotataoly mounted in the brackets 29 and which car ries, at its inner end, an eccentricpin 30 that can be moved into contacting relation with the bottom of a recess 31 formed in the cam plate 27. A lever 32 is secu-redto the shaft 28 and is provided, at itsfree end, with an open or ring-shaped handle 33 that is adapted to pass over interlocking ringshapedlugs 34 and 35 formed on the adja- A. plurality of vertiw cally extending angle irons 22 are secured,:

V For locking the doors in their, operative position, we pro-" cent ends of the two lower bars26. These lugs are providedwith registering openings throughwhich can be dropped a pin 3? for holding the handle, and consequently v, the lever 32, in its locked position When it is desired to .open'the bulkheaddoors, by pulling outwardly on the handle 33, the operator can cause the eccentric pin 30 to'engage V the top of the recess 31 in the cam plate 27,

and thusply the one door outwardly, whereupon both of them can be easily moved to their inoperative positions. s

We prefer to provide additional means for holding the bulkhead doors in" their closed position, and for this purpose we provide two comparatively heavy brackets 38 that extend upwardly from the tops of the doors and are adapted to contactwith stops" 39 secured to the top of the car. These stops comprise lugs 40 that are adapted to be received by suitably formed openings in the upper ends of the brackets 38. These lugs have transversely extending openings for receivin cotter pins 41 :or other suit- 1 a t 5 aole means tor securing theupper ends of the bracketsoe to the steps 39.

. For supporting the ice in the ice chamber above thewell as, we provide an ice rack comprising bars L8 thatare held in spaced relation by means of suitable spacers 44, or clampedtogether by means oflong rods or bolts 45. The rate thus formed is su port ed by a channel iron shelf 46, extending across the end of the car and along the sides to apoint ad acent the bulkheaddoers' We also secure the inner faceof the hotton' channel member 17 of each] bulkhead door an angle iron 47, the horizontal flange of which acts as a support for the edgeof the ice grate adjacent the bulkhead. Vfhen the bulkhead doors are moved back to their inoperative position, the-ice grate may be reinovec fromits supporting shelf and dropped wardly and upwardly to permit access to 1 the well. The well is usually lined with sheet proof matei metal, or other suitable water rial, but illustration of this feature has been omitted for the purpose of clarity.

A pair of horizontallyextending rods or shafts 52 extend across the top of the car in substantially parallel relation to the plane of the bulkhead and are supported by suitable bearing blocks or bracketsb3 secured to the top or roof of the car. 'Pilfer plates These are pivot'ally mounted upon the rods 52 and are adapted to swing'dow n to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 when the'bull'ehead doors are'in their operative positions.

Adjacent their upper ends the pilier: plates 7 .54 are slotted and pressed outwardly to form downdraft suction hoods 55 that assist" in producing a circulation of air the ice and through the car. i

The pilfer plate 54 is provided forthe' purpose of closing the ice hatohway 14 when the bulkhead doors are swung'back to their inoperative position, and we prefer to accomplish the closing or" these pilfer plates automatically. This we accomplish: by means of the cable 56 that passes around the sheaves. 57 and'58 and hasone end attached to the pilfer' plate, as shown at 59, and the other end attached to the top of the corresponding bulkhead door, as shown at 60. It will be seen that when the bulkhead doors are moved to inoperative position along the sides of the car, the pilfer plates will be drawn upwardly to the ings in'the fer plate.

positions shown in dotted outline in Figure} p 2, and thus -close the hatchway or hatchways. For further securing the pilfer plate in its operative position, we prefer to provide'the supporting pins 61 that are received by openings 62 in the pilter'plate. 'Keys 61 can then be inserted in suitable openpins 61 and thus support the pilf If desired, the combined down draft device and pilier plate described above may be omitted and a pilfer plate 54,oi the type shown in Figure 6, may be substituted therefor; :This pilfer plate is not automatic in its operation, does not include'any down draft device and is provided merely for the purpose of closing the hatchway 14 when the bulkhead doors are moved into their inoperative position.

From the above descriptionit will be apparent that when the bulkhead "doors are in the positions shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the ice chamber a or compartment, formed by the bulkhead doors and the sides and end of the car, and also by the ice grate,

is substantially filled with ce, the pili er "plates 54 will be held in the position shown in Figure 2, sothat it will be impossible for anyone to gain access to the loading space of the car through the hatchway 14 and the space above the bulkhead doors. It will also be'seen that the down draft suction hoods and thespaces between the screens 23 and the metal plates 19 will induce a circulation of air down through and around the ice that .will greatly expedite the cooling of the car and its contents. It will also be seen that by providing bulkhead doors in which wood,

or some other non-conducting material is used as a facing on the side toward the load ing-space, we have provided a construct on down over 'cess to the ce well.

prevent anyone from- I d through the ice hatchways. VVhen the doors that will prevent injury to the'contents of the car by :tr'ost that might otherwise be conducted to the contentsit the face of the door were made of metal or other frost conducting material.- It willalso be seen that the provision of thepivoted sereen49 not only permits the circulation fof the air through the car, but also are in their inoperative positions,,the ice grate can be removed and dropped -'.down

into the well, as heretofore describethwhere it will protect the metal lining oi the well against injury.

permits readypac- In the modified fOllILOf ourjinv'ention, il

bulkhead in place of being divided in two' parts, pivotally' mounted upon opposite walls'of the car,'isi'ormed ina single pa'rt,

lustrated in Figures 7 to 12,'inclusive,;the

or unit, that is adapted-to be moved into 2 a} position adiacent the end of the car so 1 as to occupy a minimum space. in this form I '95 venting 'pilferage ot' the car through the of our lnvention wep'rovidemeans for pre' hatchway and make use 'ofapart of the bulkhead for protecting the well pan.

In this form of our, invention the bulk ahead comprises 'a rectangular frame 65,

formed of channel iron, the rear end of which is closed by a sheet metal plate 66 and the opposite end of which is closed'by" suitable wooden sheathing 67. Confined betweenthe plate 66 and the sheathing 67 is a layer 68 of mineral wool, cork, or othersuitable end or face ofthe bulkhead by means-of bolts 70, or in f any otherjdeslred manner,-

heat insulating material. Verticallyextend- I ing' angle ,1rons 69 are secured to the inner and support the Woven screenl'l inspaced relation to the metal sheet 66. Thisscreen is held in placebyme'ans of the metal strips 72 that are held in place by means ofbolts 73 fastened through the flanges ot-the angle irons. A leg 74 supports eaclrend ot'the bulkhead and is in turn supported by a roller 75 that isadapted to roll upon the bottom of .the car and preferably upon an metal strip- 76 provided for that purpose. A bracket, or upright, 7'; extendsupwardly from each end of the bulkhead" and carries,

at its upper end, a roller 78 adaptedto ride in a channel iron 79 secured to the root of the car and extending transverselyof the car. 1 b V b A A pilier plate 80 is pivot-ally mounted on the uprights 77. This pilier plate hasdown draft hoods 81 formed therein, similar. to those descri-bed in connectlon with the embodiment of our invention shown inFigures 1 to 6, inclusive. Eye bolts 82, carried by swinging the pilier plate'to an open position.

An ice well screen, comprising the vertically extending angles 8& and the transversely extending spaced angles 85, is pivotally mounted uponthe lugs 86, one of which projects outwardly from each end of bulkhead. Removable pivot pins. 87, extending through one of the flanges oi each angle as and the adjacent lug 86, provide means for pivotally mounting the icewell screen but permit theready detachment of the screen 7 from the bulkhead for a purpose thatwill later be referred to.

An ice rack, comprising the longitudinally extending angles 88 and the transversely exctendin an le 89 u 3011 which are .su ported Di D 7 l j .L

the wooden. bars 90, is pivotally mounted the car by mcans'of the pivot plus 91, s o'as to perm t 1 to be swung upon the sides of upwardly to the position shown in Figure 9. An angle iron 92, carried by the bulkhead,

. forms a support for the'i ree end of the .ice

1 Figure 8. Preferably, the angle iron supported bybolts93 that can beremoved rack when it is in the position shown in so as to permit the angle iron v92 to'drop. This allows. the free end of the ice rack to drop downwardly'to discharge whatever ice may be'resting thereupon through thespace belowth'e bulkhead. I

For the purpose of moving the ice rack to a position that will enable it and the bulkhead to be moved to the position shown in .Figure 9, we provide the, lever 94 that is pivotally mounted upon one side of the car, as shown at 95, and provided with a 7 projection 96 that extends below the adjacent longitudinally extending angle iron 88 The lever projects outwardly between the frame members of the'bulkh'ead and the side ofthe car and carries a foot plate'97 upon which the operator can step to lift the ice rack lnto suchangular position that when pressure is applied to the bulkhead it and the ice rack can be moved to the position shown in Figure 9. Preferably, the foot plate 97 is pivotally mounted upon the out-er end of the lever9 l so that it'can be swung up against the side of the car. if desired,

another similar lever can be mounted upon of said car.

the opposite side of the car.

When the bulkhead is collapsed to the position shown in Figure 9, the pilfer plate is swung upwardly to the position shown in the same figure, and held in place by.

means of an eye bolt 98 and a key .99, or 1n of vthe 7 position,

The space left beany' suitable manner.

tween the edge of the. pilfer plate and the 7 adjacent side of thehatchway ltinis. too

small to permit a person to enter the car through this space. When the bulkhead has been moved to the position :showmthe. pins 8? are withdrawn, thus permitting the well screen to be dropped into the well pan, as

shown in Figure 9., thereby providing'load- I ing rack for the merchandise and'at the same time protecting the well pan.

"The wallsot the car that form the other sides of the icechamber are'preferablyprovided with uprights 100, to whiehis secured sheets 101 of metal screen. This provides passageway for thecirculation of the air.

lhe pilter plates, in either their closed or openedposition, vand irrespective of whet-her the bulkhead is in its operating or collapsed erator, car into a ventilator car during cool weather when the-car requires no ice.

A further advantage of our present consir-notion is that the collapsible bulkhead permits access to the end of the car for making repairs without the necessity'o ii destroying or removing the bulkhead. This is of special importance 111 that the common type of can be used to convert the refrigbuilt-in bulkhead must be torn out entirely in order tOqIllFllKG repairsa-t the end of the car. The cost of tearing'out a bulkhead of the conventional type and later rebuilding it is reater than the ori inal cost of buildin 23 D 5 such bulkhead, and for that reason our construction is of particular importance.

While we have described the details of construction of the preferred embodiments ofour invention, it is to be clearly imderstood that our invention is not limitedto these details, but is'capableofother adaptations and modifications, within the scope of the appended claims Having thus described our invention,

what We claim is:

1. The combination with ice hatchway adjacent one endthereot, of a pair of bulkhead doors pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said car andino vable into positions along the sides said car, or into positions to form a bulkhead across said car, a well screen pivotally supported on the lower end of eachof said doors, a p'ilter plate pivotally mounted over each of said doors to turn about 'a horizontal axis, said pilfer plate comprising a plurality of down-draft suction hoods, and. means actuated by said doors for moving said pilfer'platesaoross the lower side oi said hatchway'when said doors are moved to a position along the sides into positions along the sides of saidcar, or I a car having an.

' into positions to form a bulkheadacross' said car, a well screen pivotally supported onthe lower end of each of said doors, a pilfer r plate pivotally mounted over each of said .doors to turn about a horizontal axis, and

means actuated by said doors-for moving said pilfer platesacross the lower side of said hatchway whensaid doors are movedto a position along the sides of said car.

; 3. The combination wlth a car havlng an ice liatchway adjacent one 'end'thereof,-of a pair of bulkhead doors pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said car and movable; into positions along the sides of said car, or into positions to form a bulkhead across said car,

a well screen supported on the lower end of each of saiddoors, a pilfer plate mounted over each of said doors to turn about a hori.--

Zontal axis, said pilfer plate comprising a plurality of down draft suction hoods, and a means actuated by said doors for moving sald pllfer plates across the'lower side of said hatchway when said doors are moved to a position along the sides of said car,

4. lhe combmatlon with a car havlng an ice hatchway adjacent one end thereof, of a bulkhead door pivotally mounted on one side of said car, a pilfer plate pivotally mounted above said door, and means for movingsaid pilfer plate across said hatchway whensaid door is swung to a position along the side of said car. i I a 5. Thecombination with a .carhaving an ice hatchway adjacent one end thereof, of a bulkhead door pivotally mounted on one side of said car, a pilfer plate mounted above said door, and means for moving said pilfer plate across said hatchway when saiddoor is swung to a position along the side of said car.

6fThe combination with a car, of means for forming a bulkhead across said car, com prising a door pivotally mounted on the side of the car to be swung'to a position across said car, down draft means pivotally mounted to swmg on'a horizontal axisabove said door when said door. 1s m 1ts operative position and extending substantially across said I door, and a well screen pivotally mounted on the lower end of said door.

door. 7 V V r 8.-The combinatlon wlth a car, of means tion and extending substantially across said:

for forming a bulkhead across said car, comprising a door pivotally mounted on the side of the car to be swung to a pOSltIOIl across said car, a down draft device mounted above said door when said door is in its operative position and of substantially the same width vas the door, and awell screen pivotally mounted on the lower end of said door. f a

9. "The comblnatlon wlth a car, of means for forming a bulkhead across said car, comprising one member pivotally mounted to swing about a vertical axis and another member pivotally mounted to swing about a horizontal axis. a v i 10. The combination with a car, of a door movable to afposition across said car and a down draft device mounted to move'into pobehind said door 'for holding said down ,dma device in position to prevent pilferage.

through the spaceabove said door. 7 11. The combination with a car,'of a bulk head door pivotally mounted on one side of said car, co-acting ice grate supports car ried by ,said'car and said door, an'ice grate removably supported by said supports, and a member pivotally mounted on the lower end of said door for permitting access to the space below said ice grate.

12. A bulkhead door for a refrigerator wooden facing-secured to said frame, and a metalfacing secured to said frame 1n spaced relation to sa d'wooden facing, heat 1nsulat ing mean confined between said facing, and a reticulated member supported 1n spaced relation to said metal facing: 1

18. A 'bulkhead'for refrigerator cars comprising a pilfer plate having downwardly directed openings formed therein.

1s. The combinat on with a refrigerator car havingjahatchway and a bulkhead form ing an ice chamber, of a pilfer plate pivoted to be swung'into position across said hatchsition above said door, said down draft device having means for co -acting with the ice car comprising a rectangular metal frame, a

way or over said bulkhead, said plate having openings forming ventilating openingswhen said plate is positioned across said hatchway, .and forming draft openings when said platelis positioned above said bulkhead.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe day of November, 1924. HAROLD A. SIMMS. JOHN H.

our names this 19. 

